In this second instalment of this four-part summer series, I will be looking at some of the key legislation which informs and underpins the Early Years Foundation Stage framework (EYFS) (DfE, 2021/2023).
Aug 14, 2023 Early years lecturer, PhD Student - University of Dundee
In this second instalment of this four-part summer series, I will be looking at some of the key legislation which informs and underpins the Early Years Foundation Stage framework (EYFS) (DfE, 2021/2023).
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Primarily, the EYFS is underpinned by the Childcare Act, which was introduced into England in 2006. The aim of the Childcare Act (2006) was to place a clearer duty on local authorities to increase accessibility and secure sufficient childcare for working parents. A further aim was to improve outcomes for children and narrow the attainment gap for disadvantaged children through access to childcare provision. Two years later, the EYFS framework was introduced into practice, which received the statutory status through an order made under section 39 of the Childcare Act (2006). In addition to the Childcare Act (2006), early years providers implementing the EYFS framework must also have regard for other key legislation and government policies. Some of these policies directly feed into the EYFS, while others are interlinked to support aspects of it. Below is a brief outline of some of the key legislation and wider government policies that must be regarded to within current practice:
Under the EYFS, all early years providers and practitioners have a statutory duty to keep children safe and well. Underpinning this statutory duty are many key pieces of legislation and wider government policies, in fact there are too many to discuss all of them within the scope of this series. However, some of the most relevant ones covered within the EYFS framework include:
The working together to safeguard children statutory guidance was published in 2018 and provides clear roles and responsibilities of individuals and organisations to ensure children are kept safe. There is a strong link made within this statutory guidance to the compliance of the welfare requirements of the EYFS framework.
This piece of guidance was issued under section 29 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2001, which aims to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. All early years providers and practitioners have a statutory duty to protect children within their care and must be alerted to any potential causes for concern in a child’s life. This includes having an awareness of how children can be influenced to express extremist views. In line with existing safeguarding processes, providers and practitioners need to identify and respond to radicalisation and extremism concerns under the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the EYFS framework.
It is a statutory requirement within the EYFS for early years providers and practitioners to ensure arrangements are in place to support children with SEND. Underpinning this requirement are several legislative and statutory guidance documents. Two of the key pieces include:
The Equality Act came in to force in 2010 to protect everyone, including children and young people, from discrimination, harassment, and victimisation. The Act additionally aimed to promote and strengthen equality and improve opportunities for everyone. Within the context of the EYFS, the Equality Act (2010) applies to several areas, including the safeguarding and welfare requirements. However, more specifically in relation to supporting children with SEND, the Equality Act (2010) states that providers and practitioners must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ within their practice to support children with SEND to ensure that they can access all areas of provision and learning opportunities. In addition to supporting the rights of children with SEND, the Equality Act (2010) outlines clear responsibilities of practitioners when working in partnership with parents and their families, to ensure that they do not encounter any form of discrimination.
The SEND Code of Practice (2015) applies to children and young people aged 0-25 years and sets the legal requirements and statutory guidance that all educational professionals must follow. This includes the EYFS sector. All early years providers and practitioners must give regard to the code, without exception. Within the SEND Code of practice there is an entire chapter dedicated to outlining and explaining the actions which early years providers and practitioners must take to ensure that they are meeting their statutory duty in identifying and supporting all children with SEND.
It is a statutory requirement of the EYFS for providers and practitioners to make, maintain, and keep accurate records. Furthermore, where appropriate, they must share information about children with other professionals. There is specific legislation in place to support the collection and management of personal data, one of which includes the following Act:
The Data Protection Act is the United Kingdom’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into effect in 2018 across all countries within the European Union (although the United Kingdom has since left the European Union, the Act remains in place). Within the context of the EYFS, providers and practitioners need to be compliant with the Data Protection Act (2018)/GDPR when they are handling and storing data on children, their families, and employees. Early years providers must demonstrate that they have a legitimate reason to collect and process personal data and must demonstrate that measures are in place to protect it.
The sheer amount of legislation that needs to be implemented and given regard to within practice can be overwhelming. To assist practitioners to navigate this, there are strategies which can be applied within practice to make it more manageable. For example, within my own practice, when I developed setting policies and procedures, I made sure I included the title of the legislation which each policy was underpinned by at the top of each document. At the end of each policy, I additionally included direct links to the legislation so that practitioners could refer to the whole pieces of legislation and statutory guidance documents. I felt that this made it easier for practitioners to refresh their knowledge by being able to access a setting policy, one at a time, in a bite-sized format. This also supported working in partnership with parents/carers as they have a right to know about the underpinning legislation and legal duties of the setting. Setting policies and procedures out in this format makes the information more accessible for everyone, promotes transparency and supporst effective information sharing.
Early years providers and practitioners have a statutory responsibility to implement and give regard to underpinning legislation and wider government policies. Failure to do so can have serious consequences, especially if there has been a risk to a child safety or wellbeing as a direct result of policies and procedures not being followed correctly. Sanctions for not complying with legislation could include a setting being closed, individual practitioners being disqualified from working with children and in some cases, criminal action being brought against them. Therefore, it is integral to your own practice to become familiar with key underpinning legislation, how they relate to different aspects of your practice and have a clear understanding of your own role and responsibilities. Not only will this ensure a safe and nurturing environment for the children you care for, but it also protects yourself and creates a healthy, safe and positive work environment. This article provided a brief overview of only some of the key underpinning legislation of the EYFS framework. It is not intended as a definitive list, but to highlight some of the key pieces of legislation within early years practice. Therefore, this should only be used as a guide and you need to always refer to the EYFS (DfE, 2021/2023) to ensure that you are implementing all of the legal requirements. ---
